11. Gypoictixia. 



43 



Those specimens I have examined show very little variation in 

 colouring ; the flanks are in some a little paler, and occasionally 

 washed with ashy brown, and the median wing-coverts in some 

 incline to fulvous or pale rufous on their margins ; wings very 

 long, extending beyond the tip of the tail. 



Yoiivg. Not so bright in the rufous colouring of the chest and 

 abdomen ; the blackish markings on the tips of the feathers duller 

 brown, flanks lighter, tail more distinctly barred, no ashy grey 

 on cheeks and sides of the neck. 



Habitat. Wide Bay District, Dawson River, Richmond and 

 Clarence Rivers District, New South Wales, Interior, Victoria, 

 South and West Australia. 



Measurements of average-sized specimens from different localties. 



A 1 9 3'd. sk. Gayndah, Burnett River, Queensland. 



A 2 ^ ad. sk. New South Wales. 



A 3 (? ad. sk. Ashfield, New South Wales. 



A 4 (J ad. mntd. Carlingford, New South Wales. 



Col. 

 Pres. 

 Pres. 

 Pres. 



11. GYPOICTINIA. 



1. Gypoictinia melanosternon. 



The Black-breasted Kite. 



Buteo melanosternon, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1840, p. 162 ; id. Eds. 

 Amtr. pi. 20 (1848); Gray, Gen. Bds. vol. i, p. 12 (1849) ; Strickl. 

 Orn. Syn. p. 34 (1855); Gray, Hand-list Bds. p. 7 (1869); 

 Bir/gles, Orn. Austr. pt. 21 (1870). 



Gypoictinia melanosternon, Kaiqj. Confr. Orn., 1850, p. 61; Bonap. 

 Consp. p. 19 (1850) ; Gould, Handblc. Bds. Austr. vol. i, p. 47 

 (1865) ; Gurney, Ibis. 1878, p. 459; K. H. Bennett, Proc. Linn. 

 Soc. X.S.W., vol. vi, p. 146 (1882); id. Jbis, 1884, p. 465; 

 Gurney, List Diurn. Bds. Prey, p. 82 (1884) ; id. Ibis, 1886, p. 457 ; 

 Eamsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W., vol. ii, 2nd ser., p. 165 (1888, 

 Derby) ; id. Tub. List. Austr. Bds. p. 1 (1888) ; Xorih, Nests and 



